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Ellen Burstyn honored in Venice, says women in Hollywood are close to parity

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Ellen Burstyn received the Venice Film Festival’s Honorary Golden Lion at age 93 and presented a short film in which she plays Marilyn Monroe.
  • Burstyn said women’s roles in the film industry had changed dramatically, although the industry had not yet reached equal representation.
  • She recalled her Oscar-winning work in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” and the physically painful experience of filming “The Exorcist.”

Ellen Burstyn says Hollywood has come close to gender parity, even if it has not reached it yet. The 93-year-old actress made the assessment in Venice, where she received the festival’s Honorary Golden Lion.

When I started working, 150 years ago, there were no women on the sets. There were no women in the technical crew. There wasn’t a woman behind the camera. It was all men.

· Ellen BurstynBurstyn described the lack of women in film production when she began her career.

Burstyn also presented her latest work, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s short film “The Flesh Impact,” in which she plays Marilyn Monroe. Dakota Johnson portrays Monroe as a young woman.

At a press conference before the ceremony, Burstyn looked back on a career that includes more than 150 films. She recalled how different the industry was when she first entered a studio in the late 1950s. “When I started working, 150 years ago, there were no women on the sets,” she said. “There were no women in the technical crew. There wasn’t a woman behind the camera. It was all men.” If a woman was present, she said, she was usually an actress.

If there was a woman, she was an actress.

· Ellen BurstynShe summarized the limited roles available to women on film sets at the time.

Burstyn said female roles at the time reflected an outdated idea of women, particularly wives waiting at home with tea while their husbands went out to save the world. She credited activists including the late journalist Gloria Steinem with changing public awareness. Script supervisors appeared first, she recalled, followed by women in camera departments and other parts of film crews. Women now operate heavy equipment and work throughout productions, she said, although the industry is still not exactly 50-50.

We are not exactly 50-50 yet, but we are close.

· Ellen BurstynBurstyn celebrated progress toward gender parity in the film industry.

Burstyn also discussed “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” the Martin Scorsese film that won her an Oscar and established her as a feminist icon. She had hired Scorsese when he was still unknown. She described “The Exorcist” as a life-changing but physically painful experience, saying director William Friedkin was extremely talented but would do anything to get a shot, including leaving her with a back injury she should not have suffered.

It was a life-changing experience, but it was painful, physically painful.

· Ellen BurstynShe described filming The Exorcist and the physical injury she sustained.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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